Get ready for Carolina Daze: NC’s newest music and arts festival hits the voting scene

With a lineup featuring Janelle Monáe and Tierra Whack, Carolina Daze is set to turn up the volume on voter participation in North Carolina.

Next month, Raleigh will welcome a new addition to its cultural calendar: the Carolina Daze Music and Arts Festival, an event designed by young North Carolinians that merges pop culture, music, and art with a mission to energize and educate Gen Z voters across the state about the upcoming elections. 

Carolina Daze, a name that was inspired by the play-on words in Spike Lee’s film School Daze, is set to debut on Sept. 14, 3 p.m. at the Red Hat Amphitheater. The event is organized by Common Cause North Carolina, a nonpartisan grassroots organization. 

New voter? Questions about voter ID? We answer all of your questions in Cardinal & Pine’s Voter Hub. 

Gino Nuzzolillo, the campaigns manager at CCNC, described the festival as more than a concert, but a statement by young organizers like himself.

“It’s an opportunity to do voter education,” the 26-year-old says. “But more fundamentally, it’s a statement of hope for the North Carolina we know that can be, and in the North Carolina that we organize every day to make real.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cardinal & Pine (@cardinalandpine)

Over the past year, Nuzzolillo has worked across the state to organize dozens of town halls through CCNC’s #UniteNC Town Hall Tour 2023 to hold local lawmakers and politicians in different counties accountable.

And despite recent oppressive actions by the NC legislature, Nuzzolillo says young people in the state remain committed to their progressive values and advocate for a future that honors everyone’s dignity and prosperity for the future.

With the elections coming in less than 75 days, Nuzzolillo says this festival was born after realizing that young people who were “apolitical, disillusioned, and disenchanted by politics” did not have a lot to look forward to on the ballot box, before new candidates were on the tickets. 

And while many politicians create events specifically to pander to young voters, he says this event does something different.

“We wanted to make the statement that this program, this event, was done by your neighbors, by people like me and Lisette and the rest of our team…by people who are going to be there with you in 2025 when we have to show to the legislature, or in 2031 when we have to redraw districts,” Nuzzolillo says. “We’re not going anywhere.”

The Carolina Daze Music and Arts Festival lineup is as impressive as its mission, headlining national stars like award-winning singer and songwriter Janelle Monáe and Tierra Whack, as well as homegrown Tar Heel talent such as Lute, Moses Sumney, Helado Negro, Elora Dash, and North Carolina A&T University’s very own DJ ISO.

Beyond music, fans can also hear from newly announced hosts like Tiff Merritt, La Costeña, Jesse Huddleston, and Lil’ OBreezy, poetry from Dasan Ahanu, CJ Suitt, and Jadalmani, and several guest speakers including Stefania, Dr. James Ford, and Crystal Cavalier-Keck. 

Lisette Rodriguez, community and engagement organizer from CCNC, says attendees can also expect voter registration drives, civic engagement activities, and opportunities to connect with grassroots organizations partnering with CCNC, including the Carolina Abortion Fund, 7 Directions of Service, and the Center for Racial Equity in Education.

Rodriguez, founder of Fayetteville Freedom For All, a local grassroot organization, says a portion of ticket sales will be donated to the organizations as well. 

“We want folks to get involved, whether it’s with one of the organizations we’re fundraising for or the folks that might be tabling at our event,” Rodriguez says. “We really want to connect people with the issues they care about and the organizations that are working on those issues.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cardinal & Pine (@cardinalandpine)

CCNC organizers say they’re planning future events, including a second show in Asheville on Oct. 13 at Salvage Station, and another unannounced show in Charlotte in the fall.

Tickets for Carolina Daze are now on sale, and volunteers are needed, with free admission offered to those who help.

Nuzzolillo and Rodriguez say with the new additions coming to the festival, they are looking to sell out for the event made of, by, and for young North Carolinians who care about the future of this state, and believe that brighter daze are ahead.